Spring urged clamping bench stop



March 26, 1957 H. w. WATTS 2,786,501

SPRING URGED CLAMPING BENCH STOP Filed Oct. 4, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Howard W. Warts F lg 2 INVENTOR.

BY Ala/Manly Hm March 26, 1957 H. w. WATTS SPRING URGED CLAMPING BENCH STOP 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 4, 1955 Ii 1U i I mm Iill Howard 'W. Waffs INVENTOR.

SPRING URGED CLAMPING BENCH STOP Howard W. Watts, Mineral City, Ohio Application October 4, 1955, Serial No. 538,390

1 Claim. (Cl. 144--307) This invention relates generally to bench vises or bench stops and is more particularly concerned with an improved self-tightening bench vise securable on an edge portion of a bench and including fixed and movable jaw portions between which a workpiece may be urged wherein such urging of the workpiece results in clamping engagement between the jaw portions.

A further object of invention in conformance with that set forth above is to provide a bench vise of the character set forth wherein the pivoted jaw is pivotally supported on a pivot lever pivotally carried in spaced pivoted relationship to the fixed jaw, said pivotal jaw being resiliently urged toward alignment and clamping engagement with said fixed jaw upon the insertion of a workpiece therebetween.

Another object of invention in conformance with that set forth above is to provide a bench vise of the character set forth which is economical and readily manufactured, easily and expeditiously installed and used, and highly er tcient and practical for the purpose for which it is intended.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the bench vise in position on the edge portion of a bench, with a workpiece being shown in phantom lines;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the bench vise in position on an edge portion of a work bench showing in phantom lines the relative positioning of the jaw portions of the vise when a workpiece is inserted therebetween;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially on line 4--4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 55 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is an elevational view looking in the direction of line 66 of Figure 2; and

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 7-7 of Figure 3.

Indicated generally at 10 is an end portion of a work bench upon which a workpiece 12 may be positioned for planing, etc., said workpiece being retained on the work bench by means of the novel bench vise indicated generally at 14.

A bench vise or bench stop 14 includes a frame portion 16 including a lower horizontal frame portion 18 integrally formed with a vertically extending frame portion 20 which terminates in a horizontally disposed transversely extending fixed jaw portion 22, said fixed jaw portion including a vertically disposed clamping face 24. The jaw portion 22 includes a lower clamp surface 26 which is engageable on the upper surface of the bench nited States Patent 0 2,786,501 p tented Mar. .26, 1957 10 and which is urged into clamping engagement for retaining the bench vise on the bench 10 by means of a suitable thumb screw clamping assembly 28 which extends through the frame portion 18 and includesan upper end portion adjustably urged into clamping engagement with the lower surface portion of the bench 10, see Figure 3, for example.

The frame 16 includes extending from the vertically disposed portion 20 an upwardly and outwardly extending pivot support portion 30 which is an integral portion of the frame, and which pivotally supports in a suitable aperture 32, see Figure 4, a pivotal lever element 34 by means of an integral downwardly directed stud 36 which extends through said aperture 32 having a lower threaded end portion 38 receiving a suitable washer 40 and securing nut 42 circumposed thereon for pivotal securement of the lever 34. The portion 30 includes a recessed portion 44 surrounding the aperture 32, said recess portion 44 receiving a suitable coil spring element 46, said coil spring having one end portion 48 fixedly secured in a suitable peripheral recess portion 50 of the recess 4-4, the other end of the spring 52 being fixedly secured in a radial recess 54 of the stud 36 of the lever 34. The spring is so coiled that it resiliently urges the lever 34 toward the fixed jaw 22 for a purpose to subsequently become apparent.

Thus the lever 34 is pivotal about the axis of the vertically disposed stud 36 in a horizontal plane, and includes an opposite end portion which is pivotally supported between a pair of overlying mutually parallel suitably apertured connecting ear elements 56 and 58, see Figure 6, by means of a suitable pivot pin 60. The connecting cars 56 and 58 are an integral portion of a movable pivotal jaw 62 which includes a vertical clamping face 64 having adjacent the end portion normally extending beyond the edge of the work bench abutment or stop portion 66 extending laterally out of the clamping face 64, said abutment portion 66 being engageable by the forward edge of the workpiece 12 when the same is urged between the jaws 22 and 62, whereby increased force thereagainst results in urging the movable or pivotal jaw 62 into substantial alignment with the configuration of the opposite side portions of the workpiece engaged between said jaws, and results in urging said movable jaw toward the fixed jaw about the axis of the pivot 36 of the lever 34.

The frame 16 includes a stop bar 68 for limiting movement of the pivotal jaw 62 away from the fixed jaw portion 22 and pivoting said pivotal jaw about the axis of the pin 60 into substantially parallel relation to the fixed jaw portion 22 in its limit of movement away from the fixed jaw portion 22. The stop bar 68 is formed on top of the support portion 30 to extend laterally therefrom over the bench 10 under the lever element 34 to rest on the bench element 10 in parallel spaced relation to the fixed jaw portion 32. The stop bar 68 has a beveled longitudinal inner edge 70 and pivotal jaw 62 is undercut, as at 72, to engage over said beveled edge 70 for a close fit of the stop bar and said pivotal jaw 62 together.

In view of the above, it is believed that the operation of the novel bench stop or vise is readily apparent. The vise or stop is self-tightening when the workpiece is urged toward the edge of the work bench between the jaws, and whereupon the spring 46 tends to provide a residual force tending to retain the workpiece in a substantially fixed position for example when the workpiece is being planed.

Various positional directional terms such as front, rear, etc., are utilized herein to have only a relative connotation to aid in describing the device and are not intended to require any particular orientation with respect to any external elements.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the ice principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A self-tightening bench vise comprising an elongated fixed jaw adapted to be positioned horizontally on a bench top and having a depending elongated portion at a right angle thereto adapted to engage one edge of bench top to determine the position of said fixed jaw and terminating in a horizontal pivot supporting portion remote from said fixed jaw, a lever :overlying said pivot supporting portion and having a depending pivot on one end rotatable in said pivot supporting portion, whereby said lever is swingable horizontally toward and from said fixed jaw, an elongated movable jaw adapted to be positioned horizontally on a bench top opposite said fixed jaw and being pivoted on the other end of said lever for movement bodily and pivotally therewith toward said fixed jaw to engage a piece of work slid between said jaws on a bench top, a coil spring recessed and countersunk into said pivot supporting portion and terminally connected thereto and to said pivot for swinging said lever toward said fixed jaw to correspondingly move said movable jaw into engagement with a piece of work, and clamping means on said depending portion adapted to underlie a bench top and engage the same.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain June 28, 1946 

